Operation Judgement Day [MT-Open]

[Khataiy]

Out of Character: Please keep this realistic as possible

Liberated Deir ez-Zor near the Iraqi border

Khataiyi forces embedded in eastern Syria with local Arab factions opposed to Bashar al-Assad formerly part of the Syrian Democratic Forces until splitting from YPG with Khataiyi support in favor of the mainstream Free Syrian Army bringing the opposition back to eastern Syria. Have begun conducting intense military operations along the Iraqi border to intimidate Iranian gang and cartel members like Hezbollah. Massive protests by normal Iraqis against Iranian imperialism have also inspired Khataiy to take action.

President Khairallah says the move comes after massive amounts of drugs and illegal weapons have entered Khataiy from Iran and ended up in the hands of criminals. The Ministry of the Interior of Khataiy reports that Iraq's government is directly involved.

President Khairallah announced Operation Judgement Day (Amaliyat Youm al-Qiyamah) on state TV from his personal office saying,

"No one can objectively say a thing such as 'Iraqi Government' Iraq is not a country anymore, rather a province of Iran since the illegal removal of President Saddam Hussein. But if we must reference it as such we will, Iraq's cartel government is exporting drugs that cause rape and humiliation into Khataiy from Syria and Turkey. Iran is pumping these drugs into Iraq, giving them to poverty stricken school children forcing many young men to join Hezbollah and many girls to become prostitutes.

Our intelligence shows that other Arab nations like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Jordan as well as Palestine as well as our own country are all facing Iranian drugs. Operation Judgement Day will cut the drug flow until our nations are all kept moral and clean.

Our troops in liberated Syria will block Iraqi drug exports until they cease, I tell Bashar al-Assad to stay clear of the battle he will regret it, we will target Latakia if our troops are hurt by his mercenaries.

We ask the international community to stand by us for the sake of regional stability."

Khataiyi artillery later fired live rounds at Iraqi border fortifications from Syria. Khataiyi drones also conducted recon ops and the air force has been ordered to begin air raids on Iraqi drug convoys posing as Iraqi army convoys.

[Ghasri]

Zejtun, Crowned Republic of Ghasri
3:21 P.M. Wednesday, 4th December

The small Mediterranean paradise of Ghasri usually cared little for the affairs of their war-torn neighbours to the east, yet for once the island nation’s eyes were set on the growing crisis in Iraq.

The Magisteral Palace was a magnificent beige construction in Floriana Square in central Zejtun, featuring a neoclassical portico supported by towering columns of limestone. Formerly the center of British rule over the island, the building was now in the hands of the Ghasrian government. The building was not only the location of the ministerial office but also the National Council, which held its meetings in the Tapestry Chamber. The dazzlingly beautiful room was once where the local council under colonial rule met to discuss administrative matters. Rosianne Cordina, Minister of State— the head of government in the Crowned Republic as opposed to the Hereditary Prince who served in a ceremonial role— sat in the hall with the rest of the cabinet.

”The conflict that is developing in Iraq is of utmost concern to the integrity of our nation,” began Saverio Farrugia, Minister of the Interior.

”If the reports presented by the Khataiy government are accurate, the Crowned Republic is at high risk. The spillover of large amounts of narcotics and illegal firearms from Iraq into neighbouring states such as Khataiy and Saudi Arabia seeks to threaten the well being of the populace and weaken the state. Ghasri is only 300 kilometres from the mainland Levant, and there is no telling when such deplorable substances are introduced to the homefront and destroy our youth.” he continued.

”A frightening outcome, certainly. But what actions are you suggesting we take to prevent this issue from reaching our shores?”

”We need to immediately activate the maritime reserves and double police and naval patrols in our territorial waters, even if it means exceeding the defence budget.”

”Is the current security arrangement not effective enough?” she questioned.

Farrugia shook his head.

”With the current state of our defence forces smuggled items can easily slip through the cracks. To put it simply, we do not have the numbers and equipment to effectively deal with an illusive threat such as drug and weapons smuggling. If we are to completely shield ourselves from such threats, I would suggest we liaison with the Khataiyi authorities if we can perform joint patrols in the Mediterranean in the name of regional stability.”

”If His Majesty does not object, I will inform the Foreign Office of this proposition and they should be able to contact the Khataiyi authorities.”

”Very well then. I can assure you our forces will be deployed immediately once authorised.”

⁂

The docks of the Maritime Squadron at Ħal Għaxaq was rife with activity as dockhands, sailors and other personnel scurried about the small base readying the patrol vessels of the Ghasri Defense Force Maritime Squadron for deployment to the eastern Mediterranean.

The Maritime Squadron had only five ships of note– the San Zaccharia and San Giovanni were two ex-East German minesweepers purchased after German reunification in the 1990s and were thoroughly outdated. The Arrakib, meanwhile, was a 1960s-era customs launch that was unarmed and used as a training vessel, sitting in port along with the Khabla, another ex-East German patrol craft that with a skeleton crew due to the lack of personnel after budget cuts.

Finally there was the Denfil, an aging landing craft that was used only to transport personnel or supplies to the several outlying islands. As hopeless as some of the vessels seemed, the entire naval capacity of the island’s security forces had to be activated in lieu of this new threat to national security.

Lieutenant Colonel Ermal Ismajli was the commander of the Maritime Squadron and barked orders to the men under his command to get the ships to an operational status. The Arrakib had to be retrofitted with armaments while last-minute repairs to the Khabla’s electronics was needed for maximum effectiveness.

It was truly a sad state of affairs, yet the small force needed to be ready if they wanted to protect their people from the threat of felonious contraband from reaching their shores.

Office of Foreign Relations
Crowned Republic of Ghasri

To the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or equivalent; Arab Republic of Khataiy

The Crowned Republic would like to extend its warmest greetings to the Arab Republic of Khataiy. We would like to commend the government of Khataiy for its excellent work in protecting regional safety and stability through combatting the narcotic threat from Iraq and would like to thank President Khairallah for his stance protecting our region against the flow of drugs from Iraq.

A mere 300 kilometres from the Syrian port of Latakia, our nation is also under threat from the illicit smuggling that has enveloped the region.

In the name of regional stability, we think that it is of best interests that we engage in cooperation with the esteemed state of Khataiy to shield the Mediterranean from the flow of drugs by stepping up patrols in the Eastern Med.

As the Crowned Republic is unfortunately not able to handle this task solely on our own, we would like to reach out to our Khataiyi neighbours to perform joint maritime patrols to protect the seas from the drug trade. We feel that it is in our best interests that we prevent the substances from reaching our shores and for Khataiy to cut off the sea route to slash the revenues of the cartels.

We hope to work with the Arab Republic of Khataiy to further defend our region and protect the youth and the people from the dangers of illegal firearms and drugs.

Francesco Azzopardi
Minister of Foreign Affairs